Entry 160: Ben Snaps, Blood Follows -Saba-

The sound of the shotgun pulled me from that small part in my mind that I'd receded to while the knife did its work. I looked up to see blood and brain matter splattered across the tall marble columns. The left half of Ben's body was red with the young girl’s essence. Andrew looked surprised as well, he'd stopped cutting and stood there staring at the reflection of Ben in the column I was tied to.

I could see Ben's mind crack through his eyes as they went from distressed to shocked. We all froze there for a few seconds, the only sound being the pieces of skull dropping on the floor as the blood ran down the walls. I knew what Ben was thinking, I'd felt the same when I'd made my first kill.

I watched as the horror faded, replaced by sadness. I saw him mourn for the child trying to find a way to rid himself of the sickness that had invaded him. I knew the next step, the part where he accepts who he is and realizes that his destiny had been this all along. The part where he joins Andrew in the killing. The part where he kills me.

What I saw was something different. I watched as his face went from sadness to rage. I saw the righteous anger surge through him as he realized the lack of control he'd had for the outcome. Through his eyes, like a movie, I watched him blame the person who caused the death of that young girl. Seconds had passed, but something had changed in Ben.

Glancing up at Andrew, I knew that he saw it too. Where his face had been one of ecstasy, it was now very serious. His hand gripped the knife tighter as he turned around just a little to late. The chair caught him in the chest, slamming his back in to me. Pain shot up my body and I cried out.

"How could you . . . ", Ben resolutely stepped up to where Andrew lay coughing as he tried to draw in air, "You filthy, ugly little cockroach."

Andrew grabbed for the knife he'd dropped, but Ben's foot knocked it away and then proceeded to teach Andrew’s face how to bleed with a swift kick to the bridge of the nose. Andrew slipped on the unfortunate child's blood as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

Ben grabbed the chair again and smashed it on Andrew’s back, "She was so young. She hadn't lived."

I wasn't sure what scared me more, the look in Ben's eyes or the fact that he wasn't yelling. His voice was calm as though talking to a child. There was pain and anger behind it, but it was masked with an emotionlessness that made his words sink deep in to my soul as he spoke.

Groans of pain escaped from Andrew as he tried to recover from Ben's retaliation. Ben grasped Andrew's neck and dragged him over to the motionless body of the girl and pointed to where her head had been.

"You like your work? Did you enjoy taking her life away? Did it make you feel better?"

Andrew finally spoke, "I feel no joy in her being dead. The thrill comes from the killing, but you should know that now. You are what your uncle claimed you would become. A monster, just like him, just like me, just like your frie-"

His voice was cut off as Ben shoved Andrew’s face in to the girl's stump of a neck. He pushed him against her neck until it looked like he had been engulfed. There was no way Andrew could breathe. I struggled at my captors. Ben was going to kill him.

Flashes of my past came to me, the anger I'd felt. The killing anger that engulfed me and made me what I am. The loneliness and pain that followed soon after, feelings that could only disappear with another kill. The constant need to rid myself of those feelings. It was a horrible life, and I couldn't sit here and watch as another person traveled down that dark path. I spread out my abilities and lifted the knife from the puddle of blood.

Ben's eyes were lifeless and cold as Andrew's fighting slowed down. The lack of oxygen would cause him to lose consciousness soon. I felt the ropes fall away and for once both sides of me wanted the same thing.

"Ben, stop!" I pushed Ben aside causing him to lose grip on Andrew. Andrew fell to the ground gasping for air. Ben sat on the floor unmoving, only his breath told me that he was alive.

"Thank you.", Andrew’s voice pulled my darkness out and hid my goodness away as I turned to him, "You saved me."

"You're a fool.", I snarled at him grasping the sides of his head, "I saved Ben."

Then I snapped Andrew's neck.

119: Tears and Relations -Crystal-

"Hello, Mom?"

A person nearby was talking in to a cell.

"Mom, I love you, okay?" His voice broke.

"No, no, I'm okay. I'm just calling to tell you that I never meant to upset you and I'm sorry. I'll never forget all that you taught me." He went silent, tears along his cheeks.

"Could you tell Dad that I miss him? Tell him that I know he was rough, but I understand that he was just looking out for me. No, I'm fine. Just . . . tell him I love him too. Please put some flowers on Charlene's grave for me?"

Sounds of crying and panic had flooded across the passengers quickly and I'll admit, I was scared too. This isn't something that happens to you every day. This couldn't be happening. My life had been too short, and the only people I could call were either here or . . .

My Dad. I could call him. He wouldn't recognize me, but I wanted to tell him I loved him. Tell him that I've never forgotten him. Say goodbye.

I sat there staring at my cell phone trying to get the nerve to call when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Glancing down I saw a young boy. He looked to be about 5 and his eyes were filled with tears.

"Lady?"

I kept silent and stared at the kid, seeing him put me on the verge of tears. Such a small child close to my age, losing his life so early.

"Lady? My Dad won't hear me! He's not listening!"

"Where is your daddy?"

The young boy pointed at a man who was embroiled in the panic, yelling about revolting against their captors. There was no way to get that guy listening.

"What did you need?"

"The bad men. They took the plane and I'm not gonna see my Mommy again.", he started crying loudly and fell to his knees, "I WANT MY MOMMY!"

Tears streamed down my face as I watched this child cry. A couple of seats away I heard people talking.

They were saying goodbye to their children. They could barely speak.

Slowly anger filled me, something I'm not accustomed to. I knelt down in front of the boy and patted his head.

"It's gonna be all right. Do you know your phone number?", I smiled.

"835-555-4930!", he said proudly.

I dialed the number and handed my phone to him. My Father would have to wait.

"Here, you tell your mother how much you love her, okay? Don't worry, I have a couple of friends who may be able to help."

"I'm sure we can come up with something."

I turned to see Ben walking up the aisle toward me, followed by Carl and Nick.

"So, what's the plan, boss?", I looked up at Ben.

"First, you stop calling me boss. Then we save these people."

118: Something Arises -Ben-

The trouble with being a leader is that everything falls on your head. Someone has trouble being a team-player? Go to the leader. Found a case? Go to the leader. Realize that the flight we got on is scheduled to have an explosive finish? Go to the leader.

Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and pretend someone else is in charge.

"I know what I saw.", Carl was looking at me with a stern face, "I saw a passenger with a parachute in his bag."

"So, because you saw a parachute, you think the plane is going to blow up? That's hardly enough. You're just panicking."

Maybe I was hoping it wasn't true, maybe I wanted to ignore the facts, or maybe I just wanted to get out of this bathroom before my reputation for being a straight male took a nose dive. Besides, it was really cramped in there.

"Not just that, when I was in the back chatting up this attendant, a big guy came in and asked me to leave. Normally I wouldn't have listened, but the attendant didn't want a problem so I left. Not before I saw the gun underneath his jacket though."

All I wanted to do was go take care of this case with out some kind of disaster happening that put us all in harms way. What do I get? Terrorists. It's a good day to be alive.

I put my hand on the door handle, "Listen, it could have been an Air Marshal or something. We'll keep an eye out but we won't make any moves till we figure out if it's really a group of terrorists.”

Being a leader means being patient, and willing to hear every crazy idea that your colleagues come up with. You have to be able to tell them that their suspicions are probably just that and then push it out of your mind.

The walk back to our seats was accompanied by many stares from our fellow passengers. I guess two guys coming out of a one person bathroom at 30,000 feet is enough to make people wonder.

I sighed heavily as I slumped in my seat, and no sooner had I closed my eyes when a gruff voice came over the com.

"Hello passengers. I do hope you've had a nice flight. Sadly, this will be your last. If you need to make any calls please do so, and don't forget to say your I love yous and goodbyes, because you will not be seeing them ever again.”

"I hate to be so harsh but this is a very delicate operation, so if you'd please not cause any problems then we won't miss our target. Why do you want us to hit our target? Because if we do only a couple hundred people will die, including you. If we miss, we'll be hitting a very full and very public place, which would probably increase that number ten-fold. Thank you for flying with us and have a nice day."

Then panic ensued.

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113: Door of the Dead -Ben-

So many things had happened during the past few weeks. I found out I was adopted, I got a team of people working with me, and I was attacked by zombie children under the control of an evil Snake Goddess. It only got worse when I realized that almost everything had been orchestrated by some unknown thing. Something that had my mother's spirit so scared that she did its bidding to keep me safe.

Alex Kayser was a name that kept popping up lately. John, Carl, Jay, and even my Mother’s spirit has heard of him. Now I'm expected to find him. Oh, and he's also dead.

"Crystal?"

Crystal looked up from her spot on my bed and smiled, "Yes?"

I had been up all night for the past two days looking for a job, and Crystal had stayed up with me to keep me company. She's friendly like that.

"Would you mind letting the others know to meet me in the living room? I think I have our next job."

She hopped off the bed and walked out, calling for the others while she walked. Crystal had this distinctly child-like quality to her, probably because just a few weeks ago she was one. Nick, our resident Warlock in training, had brought her back to life as her soul would have liked; an 18 year-old girl.

The Door of the Dead: an old Egyptian decoration said to allow people to converse with the dead, has earned its first casualty. A security guard had been found disemboweled near the exhibit at the museum. This normally would be scratched off as another homicide, except that his blood was all over the door. Some of his entrails were found fused to the front of the decoration. I mean, it was no longer flesh, it was flesh-rock.

It was enough to get my curiosity, and so we were headed to the Museum of Natural History to check this out; if I could get the other guys to go.

Crystal came running back in and winked, "They're all waiting, boss!"

Maybe it was the things that happened in the last few weeks. Maybe I have a sixth sense for these things. What ever the reason, something told me this wouldn't be easy.

111: Things Calm Down -Ben-

It's been three days since Saba came back from the hospital. The doctors told her she only has a couple more weeks left to live. Two days since John called to tell us that he wasn't coming back. That didn't go over well with Carl; he keeps yelling about betrayal and brotherly trust. It's been ten minutes since Crystal screamed when she opened the front door. Life just never gets boring around here.

"So, you're a warlock?"

"In training, yes.", the infamous Nick Brown sat in front of me smiling.

"And you want to work for me?"

Nick was too distracted because Crystal had just walked in with his fifth cup of coffee. I'm not kidding; four cups in less than ten minutes. I was shocked he wasn't bouncing off the walls, but I figured he probably needs the energy to control his magic.

After he downed the fifth cup he began to speak, "See, normally I'd go find someone more magically inclined; no offense, but when I was instructed to come here- I don't know how I got to this time, and seeing as Warlocks can not time travel-"

Crystal sat down, "Why not?"

"Oh, well, as far as I understand, a warlock gives off a specific signature; almost like a fingerprint. The only difference is that this "fingerprint" is a way to keep our magic from getting out of hand. If two warlocks appeared having the same fingerprint, then the oldest one wouldn't survive."

"So you can't go back in time because there would be another you? What about going forward?"

"The fingerprint is transferred to another person with the capabilities to be a warlock when you die, so no future travel either."

Crystal nodded, "Those are stupid rules."

"I didn't make them and apparently neither did nature. An old and very powerful warlock made the fingerprints long ago to stop two exceptional warlocks from messing with the time line. Again, I really don't know all the details; just enough to keep me from trying."

"You were saying?", this guy is the all powerful warlock that Crystal told me about? I glanced over at Crystal while I waited for him to respond. Did she hit her head?

"Oh, right. So I found a letter addressed to me and written by me, with instruction to come and find you. I don't remember writing it, but I wouldn't have written it with out a reason."

"How long have you been training? What do you know?"

"Well, I know some weak offensive things and a few healing spells."

Nick pointed to a scrape on Crystal’s knee, probably from the crazy events of a few days ago. Within seconds the scrape was gone.

"All right. Well, we don't have a room for you, but you can sleep in the living room for now. When I need you, I'll call for you."

"Just as long as this place doesn't have cockroaches."

107: Kayser -Ben-

I fell to my knees, overcome by the thought that I had killed an innocent little girl. I was just like my uncle. I was a murderer.

"Ben . . .", she kneeled and looked at me, "you were a child."

I barely heard her, I was looking in my head for ways to disprove my guilt. My head went through all I'd learned about myself in the last month, looking for a flaw that would make it impossible for me to have done it. My breath caught in my throat as I realized what it was.

"I was an infant."

"What?", she seemed surprised.

"When you died I was an infant, and at that time my father was locked in to his room. There's no way that he could have gone on a trip. In fact, there's no way that he wrote that page in the book either, unless he knew what was going to happen and wanted me to think of myself as a murderer."

"Ben . . . please stop. Don't say anymore.", her surprise had turned to fear.

"But why? Why would my Father want me to think I was a murderer?"

"Ben, you have to leave here now!", my Mother knelt on the ground and began drawing a circle around me decorated with familiar symbols. It was the Circle of Ghat.

I ignored her pleas, "He was possessed at the time. He was possessed by my uncle. My uncle wants me to think of myself as a murderer, but why?"

"Ben.", my Mother looked me in the face demanding my attention, "I love you always. He's coming for me because you've learned more than you were supposed to. When he comes, I'll hold him off the best I can and the circle will slow him down; but you need to run. Go look for Nicholas Brown. He can get you in touch with an Alex Kayser. Alex will be able to answer more of your questions."

"What? Who's coming?"

The house began to shake and shadows became more prominent. My Mother jumped in to the darkness of the basement and I ran.

Behind me I could hear her screams as the building collapsed.

106: My Past -Ben-

The darkness of the house was pierced by my flashlight as I made my way to the basement. A blast of cold air hit me as I opened the trapdoor, making me hesitate before entering.

"Mom? Dad?", those words were unusual for me. I didn't know that I was adopted till recently. Saying those words to someone else felt different and odd, "I need to know something about my past. Something only you people would know."

Silence told me that either I wasn't heard, or that the spirits of my parents didn't care. I wasn't willing to take that for an answer so I stepped deeper into the basement.

"A while back a young girl was killed, a Saba Zahid. I know you can help me understand what happened . . . I need your help please."

"You mean Amala Zahid."

"Amala?" I turned to the form of my Mother standing to my left. She was leaning against the wall with her back, her long braid falling over her shoulder.

"Your Dad went on a trip once with you. Brought you to India to meet with a friend of the family there and take care of their problem. While there, you got into some trouble with their daughter."

"I killed her.", I felt a heavy weight on my chest and my breathing became difficult.

My Mother looked at me and smiled, "You did."

104: Sexual Tension and Family Values -Crystal-

"Now back to you." There had been no stop in the pain as Saba made the failed attempt at saving me. I still float there above the ground, screaming in agony as my bones did things they weren't supposed to. My clothes were drenched with sweat, vomit, and other bodily fluids better left not said because of my body’s attempt to stop the pain. I wasn't sure how I was awake.

"See, that is your fate. Nothing you do can stop the next few moments and even if you could, I'd just hunt you down.", evil clone Saba spread her hand out in front of her, looking at her fingernails, "I'd kill you, but I think it'd be more fun to let you squirm. I know that killing you wouldn't be fun, but playing with you first . . . Mmmm."

The unseen force pulled me close. Saba reached over and gently caressed my neck. She leaned her mouth near my ear and giggled, "I want your blood all over m- "

My body hit the ground hard, but the pain was nothing like what I had just endured. I felt my body being lifted by strong arms and when I looked, I saw Carl moments before my vision gave out.

That's when I finally learned my place.

103: Deoderant -Ben-

I leaped down the stairs two at a time not looking back. I heard my door burst open as Melissa came storming out in a rage. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my mind was trying to find a good place to hide. I wasn't built to fight. I was built to think.

"You dirty weasel! Get back here!"

I ran in to the downstairs bathroom and slammed the door behind me. I heard her walking down the stairs as I frantically searched for a weapon. Plunger? No. She probably trained against melee. Lighter? Could be useful, but I'd need something else. There was a slam on the door as I grabbed a spray can from the cabinet.

She burst in to the room smiling wickedly, until she saw what I had prepared. Flames flew from the lighter toward her, catching on her clothes. Slapping at her clothes as she backed from the flames.

"Fire?! That's not exactly fair.", she was cornered, between me and a wall, "I'm not getting paid enough for this."

With that, she jumped through a nearby window and broke into a run. "I was only paid to get the book anyway. Killing you was a bonus."

Why was the book so important and who wanted it? When she was out of sight I glanced at the spray can in my hands. Axe Deodorant. Tossing the can in the bathroom sink, I stuffed the lighter in to my pocket and grabbed my coat. There was only one way to figure out what was so important about that book.

I had to go back to the house.

I had to see my parents.

Entry 102: Old Faces -John-

Patrick's air of control never left him as I followed him to his car.

"The team couldn't just consist of you and Jay, so I've called a couple of people who I'd think you'd get along with."

The car door in front of me opened and two familiar people stepped out.

"You guys?"

Timothy Dumont Jr. and Robert Owen stood in front of me with smiles on their faces.

Tim is a master of the internet. He can find any kind of information available and then some. I've known him for years and until Alex died, we were very close. After his death, Tim didn't think it was a good idea to get vengeance. He stayed behind and gives us help if we need it. Me and him got in to quite the fight because of Alex's death.

When Alex died I was only just getting to know Robby again . We had been close friends, but he suddenly stopped hanging out with all the guys. He'd tell us he'd be there and then just not show up. A week before Alex died he started to hang out again, but then I left to hunt and he stayed behind. He's the most scientifically adept of all of us, and he's always thinking of new inventions and scientific discoveries.

"Yeah, we were called soon after you called us with the Benjamin Case. He seems to have a good amount of resources and if he can bring Alex back . . . ", Tim fell silent.

Robby looked at Tim then at me and laughed, "Wait till you see the place we'll be staying at."

Entry 97: P.B. -John-

So he thinks that he can tell us what to do, does he? He's got another thing coming. There's no way I'm going to be told what to do by him. I'd leave before I ever would be controlled by Ben.

The hospital wasn't far so I had walked, cursing Ben in my head for the whole time. We had helped him more than enough, and he gets mad just because a couple of zombies tore up his living room and made life difficult. No appreciation for our help. Well, screw him.

"Hey, I'm looking for a James Banks. Could you point me to his room?" The nurse behind the counter began looking at her files.

"I'm sorry, James Banks has been released from our care." She smiled at me sweetly.

"What?!", I must have yelled because I could tell she was visibly frightened. That didn't stop me from continuing though, "He's very dangerous, you need to tell me where he is. Who signed him out?"

"Umm, he did.", she points behind me.

He stood about five feet behind, looking at me with a smug smile on his face. Something about him caught me as off. He looked like any other person in his thirties, except his eyes told a different story. They had an ageless quality, like I was looking in the face of someone who was around for a long time.

His arms spread out, palms toward me, "Now isn't this a coincidence."

Entry 89: For A Reason. -Ben-

Finally I was alone again. A quick sweep of the house told me no one was there. The steps creaked as I made my way up to my room. I slumped down on the bed and let out a great sigh of relief. John had really gotten on my last nerve, and it felt good to have him out of the house.

I reached over and grasped for my book, only to find it missing. I sat up fast and began looking around. I had put it right on the bed when I left. Crystal was the only person in here and I doubt she would have taken it. This was not good, but when has my life ever been good since finding that damn book?

Still, the book has saved me and the guys from plenty of situations. I had to find it.

I stood and walked over to my book case. Had I put it here?

"Where is it?!"

"Right here." A female voice I didn't recognize came from behind me.

There she stood, slightly taller than me with some curl to her black hair. She had an air of power about her.

"Hi.", she bowed, "My name is Melissa Long and I'll be your thieving-assassin this evening."

Entry 81: Unusual memory gain -Crystal-

Ben had left his book on his bed as he went to go look for John. I had told him everything about Nick and about the note that John had gotten.

His book rested inches from my hand; an irresistible temptation. Closing the door, I picked up the book and began flipping through the pages. The person who wrote this had not been sane, that was obvious. Despite that, the book seemed to be full of all kinds of knowledge. I suddenly got very excited and began to look for some information on resurrection spells.

Finding the page was not an easy task, as there was hundreds of pages to go through, but I did. I read the page until I got to, "unusual memory gain", and stopped.

My resurrection had failed? I was having unusual memory gain. I knew things that I shouldn't. I was very confused about my life now, but I thought that was normal. This was bad. What other side effects could have taken place? What if I was just like Saba?

Ben had told me of her resurrection, but he didn't go into detail. Still, multiple soul residence sounds awfully similar to crazy psycho living in the same body.

What was I going to do? I had to find Nick. I had to find him fast, before other side effects began making their appearance.

Dream Entry 79: A new dream, A new worry -Ben-

I'm standing at the top of those God damned stairs again and looking down at the body at the bottom. My body; his body. I feel his murderous urges within me as I walk down the stairs.

"This is who you are. You know it, I know it. You just don't remember."

The voices again. I shook my head to get rid of them and when I opened my eyes, I was in a large yard with a massive fountain in the middle. I'd been here before. I was far away from my home. There were people standing in a circle a distance away.

"Who did it?", one of them whispered to another.

"It was the boy that man brought here."

"Oh my God!"

I pushed through the crowd till I found myself staring at someone I had forgotten, until just now. I realized how I knew Saba, but this brought up more questions than answers. How could I know Saba if she's dead?

"I told you." The voice couldn't mask its glee.

Entry 73: Saba Zahid -Ben-

My doorbell rang at four in the morning. After the events of the past three days, I enjoyed my sleep and having it interrupted put me in a grumpy mood. The darkness in the hallway caused my foot to catch itself on the rug and for me to yell out in pain.

The person outside switched from the doorbell to pounding on the door. The sound riveted through my skull like a jackhammer. I heard the others waking up as I opened the door.

No sooner had I opened it, when a young, dark haired woman came rushing in. Her olive colored skin and dark eyes gave away her Arabic ancestry. Her movements showed hints of royalty while containing a kind of forced cuteness. She pushed the door shut with her back and then leaped into my arms.

"Finally!", she pushed herself closer against me; successfully making me feel even more uncomfortable.

"Um-", I tried to push her back with my palms, "mind telling me who you are?"

John, Carl, and Crystal’s gasped as they conveniently entered the room at that moment.

"Good for you Ben!", Carl said, looking the young female up and down.

"No, no . . . this isn't . . . " Worst. Night. Ever.

"He needs a woman's touch.", John smiled as he noticed Crystal's scowl, "What? You're one of the guys. We can barely call you a woman."

To my relief, the young lady stepped back and looked at the group of people standing there. "That must be your maid?", she pointed to Crystal, "And your cook and . . . one of the ugliest butlers I have ever seen." She pointed at John and Carl successively.

Crystal got an offensive look, and both John and Carl stepped forward menacingly; ready to disprove her words. To avoid any kind of problems I had to interrupt fast, "So what are you here for?"

She turned to me and got a wide eyed look, "My name is Saba Zahid and I need your help, Benjamin Ashford. I'm being hunted by a terrible beast."